A Life To Remember
by markaleen
Summary: Harry and Christine's life with their daughter Abigail. Please read disclaimer at the beginning.
1. Birth , 2 Months

NOTE- I do NOT own any of the characters or media from Night Court. All rights go to Starry Night Productions, NBC, and anybody else associated with it. I am not making money off of these stories.

This is a sequel to 'A Christmas To Remember'. It's not going to be a 'normal' story. This is actually dedicated to my baby cousin Abigail. This story will be a log of her life so it won't be completed for quite some time. Obviously, Abigail here is completely based off of the real Abby. However, Harry and Christine are not based off of my aunt and uncle. This is NOT going to be a drama (unless, God forbid, anything dramatic happens to Abby in real life). It's supposed to be a very happy and fluffy (probably to the point of unrealistic) story. I hope you all enjoy :)

By the way, this chapter is not up to date. I started late. The next chapter will be up to date. ~markaleen

* * *

July 30th:

Abigail Grace Stone was born. Nine pounds, seven ounces.

It was the happiest day of Harry and Christine's life. They finally had a little girl of their own. She was a content little girl. It was so exciting watching her grow. (And fast!)

Christine had cut down her hours at work so she could be home with Little Abby more often.

Almost everyday before work (whether Christine was working or not), they would both spend time together with Abigail. It was time they both cherished.

2 Months:

Harry looked at his watch and realized that he was going to be late for work. "Oops! Lost track of time. I've got to be going." He stood up, as did Christine. "Alright." She gave him a kiss and handed Abby to him so he could say goodbye.

Harry held Abby, "Now… you be good for Mommy, and don't do anything cute until Daddy comes home." He handed her back to Christine.

Christine had Abby facing Harry and made her wave goodbye. "Say, bu-bi Daddy…"

Harry smiled and gave Christine another kiss. "I'll miss my two gals."

"And your gals will miss you. Give everybody our love."

"I will."

Just before Harry shut the door Abby grunted. Harry walked back into the apartment, "Hey squirt… I wasn't kidding. Nothing cute until I get home."

Christine giggled as Abby let out another little grunt.

"Fine, have it your way."

Christine added, "Maybe we'll try to come and visit later."

"I'd like that."

"Now you get going! You're really going to be late!"

"Oh yeah! Almost forgot. Love you both. See you later."

Christine sat down on the couch. "So, Miss Abigail… how about we feed you, let you take a little nap, get you changed, then go visit Daddy and Mommy's friends at work?" She noticed that Abigail had fallen asleep. "Alright then… nap first."

* * *

"One more case before lunch."

"Sounds good Sir. People versus-"

Harry cut Mac off when he saw Christine walk in with Abigail. "Christine! Abby!"

Mac looked at the file in his hand, "No Sir, I have People versus Thomas."

"Mac…"

"I'm just kidding."

Harry called a recess and ran to Christine and Abby and gave them both a big kiss. He took Abigail and showed her off to everybody.

They stayed through the lunch break.

After Christine and Abby had left, and before session started again, Dan pulled Harry aside.

"Cute kid, but doesn't she interfere with your sex life a lot? I mean it's bad enough that you're stuck with the same woman for the rest of your life, but now to add a little cry machine?"

Harry rolled his eyes, _Typical Dan. _"As a matter of fact Dan, she does. But it's okay."

Dan gasped, he was shocked to hear another man say that. "Bite your tung!"

Harry put his hand on Dan's shoulder, "Dan, Dan, Dan… I know it's hard for you to understand and believe but… well… this is something you'll have to figure out for yourself."

Dan's eyes were following a tall, blonde woman who had just walked by. "You're right Harry… I think I'll start trying… _right _away."

"Oh Dan?"

"Yeah?"

"Session starts in ten minutes."

"Yeah, yeah."

Harry rolled his eyes once more and walked away thinking, _He really has no idea all the joy he's missing…" _


	2. 4 Months

4 Months:

Harry and Christine were waiting for the babysitter who was running late. "We're going to be late if we don't leave soon."

"I called the sitter and she said that she was having car problems."

"Oh well… it's not like court is going to start without us."

Christine nodded. She noticed that Abby was squirming quite a bit. "I think she wants to stretch out. Can you lay her blanket on the floor?"

"Sure" Harry grabbed Abigail's purple and green butterfly blanket and laid it on the rug in front of the sofa. Christine laid Abigail down. Abby loved to stretch out. "There we go Abby. That's much better isn't it?"

Abby smiled and started moving around.

Harry and Christine watched and laughed as their little girl was smiling and gurgling. They didn't really know why but she was a gurgler. It was adorable though. After a little bit more than five minutes, she started getting fussy. Harry picked her up and tried to settle her down. She did for a bit but then she started fussing again. Christine realized that she was hungry so she quickly fed her before the babysitter came. Another half hour had passed and there was still no sign of the babysitter.

"What are we going to do? We should have been at work twenty minutes ago."

Harry thought for a moment, "Well, I can think of two options…"

"Yes?"

"One, we could bring Abby to work with us, although it would be very distracting. Or two, we could see if Quon Le would mind watching her."

"Well… I guess we can trust Quon Le. She is an experienced mother."

"Good, I'll give Mac a call and see if he can ask Quon Le." He walked over to the phone.

"Don't we have their home number?"

"Somewhere but we don't have a lot of time to look for it."

Harry called and Mac said it wouldn't be a problem.

They packed a bag for Abigail, grabbed their coats, and were headed out the door when Christine suddenly thought, "Wait, what about the sitter?"

"What about her?"

"She's going to show up at some point and no one will be home."

"You're right. Hmm… we'll have to leave a note or something."

"I feel guilty though…"

"How come?"

"Because we're just leaving without letting her know."

"I know, but we can't be this late for work."

"I know…" she handed Abby to Harry. "Take Abby. I'll go write the note."

Harry nodded. He waited in the hall with Abigail. She started squirming again. "Don't worry, Mommy will be right back." It didn't take her long to settle down.

Christine came back about two minutes later with the note and a piece of tape. She taped the note to the door. "Okay, all set." She saw that Abby was almost asleep in Harry's arms. "Oh… how adorable is that?"

Harry smiled, "Very."

Christine laughed as she gave Harry a kiss before they started heading down the hallway.

"I love you."

"I love you too."


	3. 5 , 6 Months

5-6 Months:

A new year has began for Harry, Christine, and Abby. And a great one at that.

Harry was listening to some of his Mel Torme records in the living room while reading a book. Christine had just put Abby down for a nap. She came into the room with a piece of paper in her hand. "Harry, look at this." She sat down next to him on the couch.

"What's this?" he took the paper from her.

"It's a flyer for a dog sled race."

Harry skimmed the flyer, "I never knew you liked these things. Why didn't you ever bring it up before?"

Christine laughed, "I've never been to one, but it sounds interesting. We missed the one today but how about we go to the one tomorrow?"

"Sounds fun, let's do it."

"Yay! Thank you." She gave him a quick kiss and stood up, "I'm going to go start dinner."

"Alright." He picked his book back up but then something occurred to him. He went into the kitchen. "How do you think Abby will be?"

Christine turned around, "Oh yeah, I didn't think about that…"

"Well, we can take her, see how she is, and if she gets to fussy we can leave."

Christine nodded, "Okay, it won't hurt to try."

They arrived at the dog sled races. Abigail was bundled up in her snowsuit and kitty hat. They stood and watched the first part of the race and then decided to get some food.

They were standing in line at the snack stand. Harry was holding Abby and Christine was playing with Abby's hand. "I am so surprised, she is barely fussing!"

Harry laughed, "I know! It's almost a miracle."

Christine laughed as well. "I don't think we should get used to it though. Oh, her nose is running again…" She took out a tissue and wiped her face, "I just glad her cold is pretty much gone."

"Yeah, me to. It probably should have also occurred to us that being in the cold doesn't help a cold."

"At least she's bundled up."

Harry nodded, "I love this hat that Roz gave her. I have to be honest, I would never have thought she would pick a cute, pink cat hat out…"

Christine smiled, "Okay, I'll be honest. I picked it out and Roz gave me the money and wrapped it up."

Harry smiled and rolled his eyes, "I should have known…" he leaned in and gave her a kiss. The man working at the snack stand said impatiently, "Are you going to order or not? You're holding up the line."

Harry and Christine couldn't help but laugh. They ordered their food and continued watching the race.

After the race they decided to go to a restaurant for dinner.

Abigail slept peacefully the entire time.

They spoke as they drove home.

"This was a great day. I never thought that we'd get through dinner."

Harry laughed, "Me either. At least we know now that if we want to go out to eat with Abby we just have to keep her awake all day and then let her sleep while we eat."

Christine turned around to check on Abby, "She seems to be waking up now."

"Hey maybe we can get her to sit through a movie."

"I doubt it but again, it won't hurt to try."

Harry quickly looked over at Christine and smiled, "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"Only about a thousand times."

"Well count this as a thousand and one…"


	4. 7 Months

7 Months:

Christine's father, Jack, hadn't seen Abby yet so he wanted to come and visit.

Christine was pretty nervous; Jack had never really cared for Harry. He didn't take it very well when Christine had told him they were getting married. Eventually (by the time of the wedding) he had seemed to wrap his mind around the fact. But now he was coming to see them and their child.

It was the night before Jack arrived. Harry and Christine were sitting up in bed reading quietly while Abby slept across the room. Harry noticed that Christine wasn't reading, but basically just staring at the book. Harry nudged her arm gently, "Hey, you okay?"

Christine jumped slightly, "Yeah… I'm fine."

Harry knew that she wasn't, "Liar." He said with a goofy voice.

She couldn't help but smile, "I know."

Harry wrapped his arm around her, "This is about you're father coming isn't it?"

Christine nodded and sighed, "Yeah, I love my father but he really has a way of stressing me out! I still haven't fully recovered from taking care of Abby when she had her cold. I don't have the energy for him, I hate to say."

Harry nodded,

She continued, "I just hope this isn't like the last time he was here, well other than the wedding… You remember don't you?

"Yes, I definitely remember. I still haven't been in the mood for a salad!"

Christine giggled, "I know, I'm still sorry about that."

"It wasn't your fault. But let's not dwell on that—everything will be fine. He's only going to be here for a couple of days anyways, and with Abby around there will be a distraction."

Christine smiled, "You're right." She kissed him then they looked over at their daughter sleeping peacefully. The atmosphere at that moment just seemed to be so comforting. They all were warm, healthy, happy, safe, and together. They couldn't ask for more. Harry and Christine didn't say anything else; there was no need to. They happily fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

The next day went very well. Abigail wasn't too fussy and she let Jack hold her for a long time. She even fell asleep in his arms. Once she woke up all she wanted was to be held. She was very content sitting on someone's lap and grabbing anything in site. Whenever Christine or Harry tried to set her down she's cry. Jack didn't think it was too good that she was clingy to people.

"She shouldn't keep crying whenever you set her down." Jack said sternly.

Christine glanced at Harry, not knowing what to say, "Well… we spend a lot of time with her… so I guess she's just used to being with us."

"I see…"

There was an awkward pause.

Harry questioned, "Is that a problem?"

"I guess not, I'm just saying that she won't always be able to be with you, so you shouldn't get her used to that. Or you... That's all."

Harry and Christine were silent; it never occurred to them that before they know it Abby would be older. She wouldn't need them to be around so much. Eventually she'd be moving out and starting her own life. A bunch of different emotions came to Christine all of a sudden. She quickly ran into the bedroom.

Without saying anything, Harry handed Abby to Jack and quickly ran after Christine. As he went into the bedroom he found Christine on the bed crying. He sat next to her and put his arms around her.

"There, there, Christine, don't cry…"

"I can't help it. Abigail may be little now but soon enough she'll have her own baby. I never realized how fast this was going to by."

Harry felt the same way she did, "I know… but we shouldn't waste this time upset or worried about when her growing up. We need to enjoy the time we have now."

Christine looked at Harry who wiped her tears, "I know, you're right. It just seems so… I can't think of the word."

"Hard, frightening, maybe even a bit unfair?"

She nodded, "All of those."

Harry quickly kissed her then hugged her for a minute or two until Christine added, "It's also exciting… you know, seeing whom she'll turn out to be and everything."

Harry smiled, "Definitely. I'm sure she'll turn out to be a great person…" he paused and turned Christine's head so he could see her eyes. "Just like her mother."

Christine smiled and put her hand on Harry's cheek, "And just like her father…"

With that they shared another kiss and went back the living room to be with Jack and their darling daughter.


	5. 8 Months

It had been a great, but long couple of months. Harry and Christine decided that it was time for a break. They packed their bags and headed up north to New Hampshire. They were curious to see what Abby would be like on a trip. But they figured that it would best to test it out before she started crawling or walking; they could tell that that time was near. Most of the time when she was being held she'd be jumping and wiggling around.

Abby slept for most of the car ride but as they got close to the hotel she started to fuss. She settled down once they were settled in their room.

Christine took Abby out of her seat and sat down on the bed with her. "Oh this is such a lovely room!" she glanced that the window, "and such a lovely view of the mountains!"

Harry smiled, "We were lucky to get it weren't we?"

"We sure were!"

Harry started walking near the bed and Abigail smiled and reached her arms out.

Christine laughed, "I think someone wants you to hold her."

Harry walked over to them, "I'd pick you up but I'd be afraid to drop the little one."

Christine giggled, "Oh Harry," she handed Abby to him.

Abigail was smiling and grabbing Harry's face. Her new favorite thing was his nose. This would be even more adorable if her nails weren't so sharp. They sat on the bed for awhile as Abby went back and forth between the two. She never could make up her mind. Dinner came and they ate at the restaurant at the hotel. Abby caused quite a scene when she pulled on the waiters tie (startling him) and causing him to drop the glass. The rest of the evening went wonderfully.

* * *

Harry was out on the balcony trying to get Abby to sleep. She seemed to be nervous in a new environment. It was also a very nice night and she could use the fresh air. He had finally got her to start closing her eyes as Christine came out.

"There you two are."

He slowly turned to her and whispered, "She's just falling asleep."

"Oh!" she whispered back know that was her cue to be quiet.

"It's a lovely night isn't it?"

"It is. And it's even greater with the mountains. Just smell the air! Pure and fresh."

"Not something we'd usually get in the city."

"Definitely not."

They were silent for awhile as they just enjoyed the view. Abby finally fell asleep.

"I'm going to go but her in bed."

"Alright." She gently gave both of them a kiss. "I'll be in, in a minute." She took one last deep breath of air thinking of all the events that had happened within the past couple years. Just five years ago she was basically just starting out in Harry's court, their friendship grew, and their relationship grew. All of the events that had happed had led them to this, a lovely vacation with their daughter. She never would have guessed it to happen. She knew one thing was for sure—

She was sure glad it did.


	6. 10 Months

**Sorry this chapter is a little late... ~markaleen**

* * *

10 Months:

It was Memorial Day and Mac and Quon Le had invited everyone to their house for a cookout. Harry and Christine had brought a little tent for Abby to protect her from the sun. They put some toys in with her to keep her occupied; Quon Le even gave her a pot and a wooden spoon to play with. She said Renee loved to use them as a drum. Abby picked up on the concept right away. Everyone enjoyed watching her and she seemed to enjoy being the center of attention. Every time someone walked by she'd smile and laugh.

Abby automatically loved Mac and Quon Le's niece, Casey. Christine let Casey play with Abby. Both Abby and Casey were having a fun time. Though when Casey was holding her in the air, Abby spit up all over Casey's face.

"I knew it was coming!" she laughed.

Everybody was laughing, especially Harry. Once Christine cleaned Abby up and gave Casey a towel she lightly hit Harry's arm with the back of her hand, "Harry stop laughing!" (she said as she was laughing).

He took a deep breath trying to stop in self from laughing, he did a little bit, "I'm sorry for laughing so hard, Casey, I just know how you feel and it's nice when it happens to someone else."

"It's okay, believe it or not that's not the first time it's happened to me. Though it is the first time it's ever been on my face." she smiled.

Harry turned to Christine, "I understand why you laugh at me now..."

Christine giggled as she put Abby back on the ground with Casey.

As the day went on Abby grew tired. She was back in her play tent not really interested about the other people around anymore. Harry and Christine were trying to stay out of her site because they knew she would cry for them if she saw them. Eventually she crawled out of her tent and spotted Christine. She wailed as everyone awed, "Ma-ma!" it was her first word (other than bob) Christine darted up and grabbed Abby. She was speechless; she knew if she said anything she'd start crying. Everyone asked if that was her first word and Harry answered yes. Shortly after, Abby fell asleep and that was their cue to go home.

* * *

They arrived home and were glad to be home. Christine put Abby to bed and joined harry in the living room. She sat on his lap in the recliner chair because all of their luggage was on the sofa and they were both too tired to move it.

It felt like it had been a long while since they really felt alone. Abby was usually awake at this time but the trip must have exhausted her. They quietly sat watching a movie on television until Christine suddenly kissed Harry. Sometime went by until he joked, "Is this your way of telling me that you're bored with this movie?"

Christine laughed, "No, this is my way of telling you I love you."

Harry knew what Christine was thinking about, "You still can't get over Abigail today can you?"

"No… but can you blame me? When you really think about it that was the first of many times I will be called ma-ma. And it also made me realize how fast time has gone by."

"I know what you mean… soon enough she'll have kids of her own."

"It's hard to imagine."

"Yeah…"

After a few moments of quite, Christine confessed, "I do worry about her though…"

Harry was stunned, "What?"

"I'm worried about her growing up."

"How come?"

"Because, what if we do something wrong? What if she turns into one of those scary kids who does drugs and listens to scary music and dresses in all black or one of those loose girls who wears skimpy clothes and sleeps with every boy she sees?"

"There's no reason she should turn out like that, Christine, you don't have to worry about that."

"Yes I do. What we teach only goes so far, she'll be influenced by school and friends and anything really." Just then they heard that Abby had woken up. Christine started to get up but harry stopped her, "I'll get her."

"Thanks." She said as she wiped her tears away.

After a minute or two Harry came back with Abby. He handed her to Christine as he 'made her talk' "Don't worry mommy, I will turn out just fine."

She smiled but couldn't think of any way to respond to that without sounding fake. Harry sat back down and had Christine sit back down on his lap. "Look at her, she isn't even a year old yet. Let's not worry about sex and drugs until she knows how to say 'let's go back to your place'" he winked.

She couldn't help but laugh. He had a point. She quickly forgot about her worries as she watched her baby fall asleep in her arms as she felt safe in the arms of her very loving and caring husband.


	7. 1 Year

**This chapter is LONG overdue and I apologize. Life got busy and also I don't see Abby as much as I would like too so I don't have as much to write with. I will definitely try harder to get chapters written though. I'll probably just do 1 a year now seeing as she is nearly 3 (that's how behind I am) unless something big happens. Thank you to anyone who has read!**

* * *

**1 Year**

Time had gone by so fast. Their little Abby was already a year old.

They decided not to have a huge party, just friends and family at their apartment. Everyone wanted time with Abby; and she had no problem with that. She loved the attention. She wasn't quite sure what was going on though. Having people over wasn't really anything new, but it was different this time. There were colorful things hanging from to doors and windows, there were a bunch of colorful boxes and bags in the corner of the room, and something smelled really good. And then, just when she thought things couldn't get any stranger… they did.

Harry put her in her high chair as Christine brought out some round thing with sticks of light sticking out. And then- everyone began to sing.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Abby, Happy Birthday to you!"

Who knew what the other words meant; all she heard was Abby. Everyone was here for **her**. But weren't they always?

Harry crouched down beside her, "Make a wish and blow out the candles." he said. Abby just looked at him with a confused expression. Christine demonstrated how to blow the candles out. Abby copied and successfully blew them out- with a little help from Harry. Still unsure of what was going on, she saw and heard everyone clapping and cheering. She hadn't gotten that much praise since she took her first steps.

The next thing she knew there was a plate of… **something** in front of her. This was unlike any food she had ever seen before. Harry put some of this mysterious food on her spoon. Abby took it and tasted it.

**Now **she knew what all the fuss was about. This stuff was delicious! She continued grabbing spoonfuls and eating it, but it was taking too long. She wanted as much of this as possible. With help from her free hand, she lifted up the cake and put the whole thing on the spoon and brought it towards her mouth. Now she was faced with another problem; the food was now too big to fit in to her mouth. Maybe if she took some off… with her hand she then ripped off as much as she could fit in her hand and put it on the spoon. Better, but still too big. This was a lot of work. As she ditched the spoon she just began taking handfuls and taking bites out of those. It took her a while to realize how much this was entertaining the adults.

Again, just when she thought nothing more out of the ordinary could happen- it did. Now she was being brought over to the pile of boxes and bags. What good are these? They don't make any fun noises, they don't have and flashing lights or fun buttons and switches. Christine handed her a box, "This is from Uncle Bull." Other than her parents, the first face Abby learned was Uncle Bull's. He was so much fun, and his head made a great drum. She looked at Bull and then the box in her hands. What was she supposed to do with this? Sure, it was pretty, but it was fairly boring. Christine showed her that she had to rip the paper off. Abby copied and learned that this was even better than cake. Okay, maybe better. Underneath the pretty paper was a box, and on the box was a picture of a doll! Why wasn't every day like this? Apparently all of the boxes had toys! So did some of the bags, but those mostly had books or clothes.

Abby was so busy having fun with all of her new things and entertaining her guests (unintentionally), that she was mad when it was time for bed. The entire time Harry was getting her ready for bed, she kept saying, "No!" but she then started feeling very tired. It was way past her bedtime and her nap was cut short. She ran back out into the party once she was cleaned up and in her pajamas to say good night to everyone. "Goo-nigh, goo-nigh, goo-nigh." she said continuously as she waved. It was fun saying good night to a whole bunch of people!

* * *

Once the guests had left, Harry, Christine, and Christine's father, Jack, were cleaning up.

"Dad," Christine began, "you really don't need to help. It's late and you must be tired."

He insisted, "I'm no more tired than you are."

"I'm fine."

Harry chimed in, "Abby sure had fun with the wrapping paper didn't she?"

Jack rolled his eyes, "I told you two to tell everyone to wrap the presents in bags- it's a lot less messy that way."

"I know, but you have to admit, it was much more fun watching her rip open the boxes." Harry laughed.

Jack rolled his eyes once again, not saying anything, and continued cleaning. Christine set down her broom. "Daddy, this feud between you and Harry has got to end."

Innocently, Jack defended, "What feud? All I did was offer some fatherly advice."

Harry added, "I'd just like to say that I've never had a problem with Jack."

"Oh please!" Jack snapped.

"Daddy, Daddy… I know that you've never 'approved' of Harry, but he's my husband and I'd like to be in the same room with both of you without hearing you bicker."

"Think you can handle that, Harry?" he said accusingly.

"Daddy!" she yelled, "I mean you!"

"Angel, when people bicker it takes **two**." he once again said innocently.

"Well so far tonight I'm only hearing bickering from you." She walked away and went back to sweeping.

Jack sighed and followed her, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. And I apologize to you too Harry." then in a hushed tone he asked Christine, "But can you just answer me one thing… What do you see in him?"

Christine smiled as she gazed at Harry across the room. "He's smart, funny, loving… he's just a great, great guy. I just wish you could see those qualities in him."

Jack glanced at Harry and then back at Christine, "Alright… if he really makes you happy I will try to like him. I guess he **is **the father of my granddaughter also."

"I'm not asking for you two to become best friends, I just want mutual respect and familial harmony. That's all."

"Okay," he smiled, "anything for my little girl."


	8. 2 Years

**2 Years**

Christine's 15-year-old niece, Annie was staying with Harry and Christine for a week while Annie's parents went away. This week happened to fall on Harry and Christine's anniversary. Annie agreed to babysit while they went out for dinner. Christine was a bit nervous because Annie had never taken care of a child alone before, but both Harry and Annie convinced her that everything would be fine. So they went. Annie was very excited to be taking care of Abby. At first, Abby was a bit shy without her parents around so Annie gave her space and watched television. Eventually, Abby climbed up on the couch next to her. Annie glanced at Abby; it almost looked as if Abby was studying her. Annie smiled and said, "Hey there."

"Hi." Abby said shyly.

Annie noticed paper and crayons on the coffee table. "Do you want to color?" Abby nodded and hopped down from the couch and sat in her chair in front of the table. "Lellow." she said as she pointed to the crayons.

Annie kneeled down next to her, "You want yellow?"

"Yeah."

Annie opened the box of crayons and took out the yellow. But as she handed it to Abby, Abby shook her head. "No, lellow."

"This is yellow."

Abby reached for the box, "No," she pointed to the red crayon. "This lellow."

"No that's not yellow, that's red." Annie corrected.

"Lellow." Abby insisted.

Annie laughed, there was no use in arguing. She handed Abby the red crayon. Once Abby was done with it she pushed it aside and then pointed to the blue crayon. "Lellow."

Annie said as she took the blue crayon out of the box, "You want this one?"

Abby nodded, then said, "You lellow and I lellow."

Then it occurred to Annie that Abby just called crayons in general 'lellow'. They colored for a while, but eventually Abby grew bored and wanted to show Annie her toys. She took Annie's hand and led her to the toy box in her bedroom. "These are Abby toys. My toys Abby toys." Annie had already learned her first day with Abby that she never tired of saying her name. "Which toy do you want to play with?" Annie asked.

"All of them." Abby quickly answered.

"How about you pick one for now, and then when you're done with that one, you can pick a new one." One thing she certainly didn't want to do is have to pick up a huge mess.

"No, all of them."

Annie sighed, and then she noticed an oversized ball across the room. "Hey Abby, do you want to play a fun game?"

"Yeah!" she screeched.

Annie stood up and rolled the ball over to where Abby was standing. She then picked her up and carefully set her on the ball. Without letting go Annie gently bounced her up and down and saying, "Boom! Boom! Boom!" along with each bounce. Abby laughed and laughed. This **was** a fun game! They played for a little bit but Annie's arms soon grew tired. She set Abby down and sat down herself. Abby rolled the ball to Annie. "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Realizing that she may have created a monster, Annie said, "Maybe later. I'm tired."

Abby climbed onto her lap and put her hand on Annie's eyes, "Is it your nap time?"

Annie giggled, "Nah, not naptime. Just quiet time. Let's go watch TV." she stood up and carried Abby in to the living room. They sat quietly for a little while, but Abby soon wanted to continue playing. "I want to play hair."

Confused for a moment, Annie asked, "Play hair? What's that?" It then occurred to her, "Oh do you want to play with my hair?" Abby nodded. Annie sat on the floor in front of the couch so that Abby could reach. She was surprised how busy it kept her. She couldn't help but wonder why adults were always complaining about how hard it was to take care of children.

As it got later in the evening, Annie found out why it was hard.

Abby refused to eat her dinner and demanded ice cream. Once she finally ate her dinner she then had to tackle a diaper. Then she started getting fussy. Bedtime came and Annie had had enough. Abby kept screaming and crying. If this went on much longer, Annie would also be screaming and crying. She finally gave up. "Fine! Don't go to bed! See if I care!" she stormed out of the room and slumped down on to the couch. She could still hear Abby crying from her room. She began to feel bad about losing her temper. Abby **was **just a little kid. All she wanted to do was keep playing, that's all. After Annie had cooled off she went back into Abby's room. She too had calmed down. Annie walked over to her, "I'm sorry I got mad at you, Abby. I'm just new to the whole babysitting thing."

"Can we play now?"

Annie sighed and shook her head, "Abby, if we play all night then we won't be able to play tomorrow."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because we'll be too tired. That's why the sooner we go to bed, the sooner we can get up and play."

Abby laid down, "Okay. Goo-night Annie."

Annie smiled, "You said my name! Good night."

* * *

When Harry and Christine got home, they saw that Annie had fallen asleep. Harry whispered to Christine, "Do you think that Abby wore her out?"

"Looks like it." she laughed.

"See, you did all of that worrying for nothing. Everything's clean, no flames, no chaos."

Guiltily, Christine admitted, "Okay, okay. I worry too much, I know. Well, maybe Annie should visit more often and babysit while we go out."

Annie groggily said, "As long as it's a lunch date." she sat up.

Christine and Harry both laughed as they sat down next to her. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble." Christine said.

"Minus dinner and bedtime, I actually had a lot of fun." Annie smiled.

Harry joked, "Next time I'll make sure that ice cream is for dinner."

"Yes, please do." Annie began, "That would save a lot of time." They all laughed and then she added, "Oh… and I hate to tell you this but…"

"What?" Christine asked with panic in her voice.

"You might need to buy her one of those bouncy balls with a handle on it."


End file.
